It is known that enemy strategy, in warfare using tanks, is to assemble a large number of tanks in a staging area for continuous assault on targets. To combat such large number of tanks, the U.S. Army has designed a weapon system which includes rockets which "fly over" the tanks and drop bomblets on the tanks, since the top of the tanks are more vulnerable than other sections of the tanks.
In one such system, a large number of bomblets are carried in the ogive of a rocket in serial, nested relation and when the rocket is over the staging area, an explosive is detonated to propel the bomblets through the rocket's ogive and above the large number of tanks for impact therewith.
Each bomblet contains a shaped-charge and igniter mechanism. The bomblets are also equipped with a ribbon-chute in the form of small ribbon which unfurls when the bomblets are propelled from the nose of the rocket. The chute stabilizes the bomblet in flight. The chutes are folded on the upper end of each bomblet and held in folded position by a polyethylene collar which is circumferentially carried about the upper portion of the bomblet. Since each bomblet is stowed in nested, serial relation (upper end of one bomblet inserted in the aft end of another bomblet) the collar is positioned in the hollow, aft conical end of the adjacent bomblet. This collar sometimes becomes lodged in the cone of the forward warhead when the bomblets are propelled from the nose cone of the rocket. This condition causes an unacceptable degradation of warhead penetration when the bomblet impacts with a target.
The igniter for the bomblet includes a firing pin which engages a detonator for detonating the shaped charge upon impact with the target. The detonator is mounted on a slider which moves the detonator under the firing pin to permit the firing pin to engage the detonator.
The handling safeties prior to loading the bomblet into the missile include a long soft roll-pin which is positioned through the slider and in engagement with the igniter housing. This retains the slider in its unarmed (detonator not under the firing pin) position. A second safety is a "bobby pin.infin. extending transversely through the igniter housing and in locking engagement with the firing pin to restrain the firing pin from movement. Both of these safeties are removed prior to positioning the bomblets in the missile. Therefore, an additional safety mechanism must be provided to prevent the warhead from accidental detonation prior to release of the bomblets from the ogive of the rockets on the battlefield.
The device of the present invention allows both above-discussed safeties to be used and also handles the ribbon-chute storage problem to prevent warhead penetration degradation.